Oh yes, there is Evil in this world.....

I just finished reading this article, about how putting a rediculously low monthly payment on credit card bills actually causes most of us to make 43% lower payments than we would normally (excluding those who pay bills in full each month. You lucky dogs.) Do you know how much more money that is for the credit card agencies?!

It got me thinking, so I did some research, watched this frontline episode (from 2004, still relevent tho) and took a big ole step back. How is it that it never, ever occurred to me as odd that credit card companies can change the rate on money I've borrowed AFTER I've borrowed it? Home loans, car loans, and personal loans can't do that, but its ok that credit cards can? I have seriously "drunk the koolaid" as they say.

Good news though! In July 2010 (not nearly soon enough), new regulations come into effect. I'm going to post them here because I found WAY too many articles that inaccurately reported them. Most of the articles just reported what was "proposed" as if it was law, but sadly, many of those proposed regulations just didn't make the cut. Those that did:

~Credit card companies can no longer raise interest rates on money you've already borrowed, UNLESS you have a variable rate card, or you've paid your minimum payment more than 30 days late

~No rate hikes in the first year, unless that was part of the original card agreement.

~Zero percent interest now actually means zero percent interest. No more deferred interest offers.

~No late fee if the bill was mailed less than 21 days from the due date. (I personally have been hit with this one, and threw a fit, and got nowhere. Apparently I was "responsible for knowing my due date and payment amount, whether or not [I] got a bill." WTF Same card that changed my due date twice in the same year without notice, btw. I don't do business with them anymore.)

~Credit card companies must now split your payment amongst all balances, or allocate it all to the balance with the highest rate. No more paying off your 0% balance transfer first while your 25% cash advance builds up interest charges.

~No more double-cycle billing!!!! (Lemme explain: double-cycle billing is when you have a $500 balance, and during the billing cycle you pay $450 before interest is calculated, but they still charge you interest on the full $500 as if it hadn't already been paid)

~Subprime cards can not charge fees or deposits that are more than 50% of the card's limit, and they must give you a full year to pay those fees off.

More info here.

Of course this means that there will a bit more responsibility in the credit card industry, since they can't gouge people as much, and that means fewer offers to higher risk people. Sounds bad, but its so not. Nothing that causes greater responsibility is ever a bad thing. Inconvenient, yes. But always good for you. Like broccoli.